Ceramic Production and Community Formation in the Middle Little Colorado River Valley, Northern Arizona

Summary

As is true today, migration throughout the past had a phenomenal impact on communities through the renegotiation of cultural practices, community and social identity. Using LA-ICP-MS I investigate community formation through shared ceramic production practices in Northern Arizona during the Pueblo III period (1125-1275 C.E.). This paper introduces the preliminary results of ceramic compositional analysis from contemporaneous sites in the middle Little Colorado River valley. During short-term environmental fluctuations throughout prehistory the reliability of the Little Colorado River would have served as an important draw to the region. The overall environment of the middle Little Colorado River valley, as well as variability in climatic conditions throughout prehistory has contributed to widespread movement into and out of the region over time. During the Pueblo III period in particular this region experienced an influx of migrants from a variety of cultural and geographic backgrounds, providing a unique opportunity to examine how groups negotiated the social environment during periods of widespread population movement and social reorganization.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17515